Research: Breakdown of Calorie comparisons
In the last 6 months we have performed an open online survey on FoodEssentials.com to learn about what people care about when looking at and comparing food labels. In total we have recorded the results of over 30,000 unique sessions and have a vast amount of data to analyse. We will be releasing regular summariesof the data over the next few months. In this post we will explore what people are looking at when they have compared products by Calories.
Calories Overview:
Calories was the number one most compared variable at 6.3% of all comparisons (638530). This was closely followed by Gluten (4.6%), Preservative (3.8%), Sodium (3.7%), and Fiber comparisons (3.6%). As can be seen by just these results, Calories was significantly more popular a comparison than the others – and this comes by no surprise. Read more
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Snacking on the Rise
by Shereen Jegtvig
According to a new report, Americans are snacking more often and that trend is going to increase. As it is, snacking isn’t good or bad, really, it depends on how you do it. Eating snacks can be bad if you choose foods high in calories with lots of sugar and unhealthy fats, or snacking can be good if you choose healthy snacks that can boost your daily nutritional intake. Of course, even with healthy snacking you’ll have to watch your calories if you need to maintain or lose weight. Adding a 250 calorie snack every day will also add about one extra pound of fat to your hips or belly every two weeks. If you snack, be sure to know how much you are eating and reduce the same number of calories from one of your regular meals.
Some people prefer to eat six or seven snacks every day instead of three full meals. Some people believe this practice helps keep blood sugar level because you avoid the natural rise of blood sugar due to eating carbohydrates and fall of blood sugar due to the increased production of insulin. Other people just feel it is easier to control their calorie intake if they just nibble snack size meals all day. The key is to not let small snacks turn into full meals, which will lead to too many calories and weight gain. Read more
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Cutting Back on Added Sugars
by Shereen Jegtvig
This week the American Heart Association released new guidelines on how much added sugar is acceptable in a healthy diet. Added sugars include sweeteners such as table sugar, honey and high fructose corn syrup that are either added during the production of foods or at the table. In general, the guidelines suggest no more than about 150 calories per day (based on your daily calorie need) come from added sugar. That’s approximately the same as 6 teaspoons of table sugar.
This may be less than many Americans are consuming each day. In fact, one 12 ounce can of soda might exceed your limit – and just imagine how much sugar is in a giant super-sized soda. It’s important to watch your sugar intake because eating too much sugar can easily cause you to take in more calories than you are able to burn each day. That leads to being overweight, then obese and increases your chances of having high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Another consideration is that added sugar really has no additional nutritional benefit – nothing but simple carbohydrate calories that are easy to absorb and your body has no trouble converting the extra energy to fat. Read more
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Fewer Calories for a Longer Life?
by Shereen Jegtvig
A recent study looked at the effect of low-calorie diets on monkeys. It was a long study, up to twenty years. The monkeys that lived on low-calorie diets stayed healthy and lived longer. In fact, the monkeys on low-calorie diets experienced a much lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes than monkeys who were fed a regular diet.
Scientists suggest that calorie-restriction may be the way for humans to eat as well. Some people see it is the best way to increase longevity. The Calorie Restriction Society was founded to support people who want to follow a restricted calorie diet in order to live longer and age more slowly. They aren’t interested in quick weight loss in order to fit into a pair of skinny jeans – the members of this group believe that calorie restriction is considered a healthful way of living. Read more
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